The two young fellows gripped hands.
“News of this outlandish tower has spread like wildfire. I heard about it three states away, and came to see for myself. And now that I’ve seen—” McGinnis thumped a clenched fist against the wooden wall, “I—well, it’s impossible! You mustn’t undertake a rise out of that thing. It will kill you. Any kind of plane has got to have some leeway—”
“The gyroscope,” Hal protested, “it’s different, only—”
“Only this, it would batter you to death in those four walls!” Fuz began to lead Hal away.
A huge crowd jammed the exhibition grounds. Word of this new thing, this impossible flight of an airplane up out of the mouth of a tower, had spread far and wide. Men were in groups over the grounds, discussing, waving arms, arguing loudly. The words “Hal Dane—Wiljohn—gyroscope!” were on every lip.
Hal Dane’s brain seethed. He hardly heard Fuz earnestly explaining how the affair could be safely managed—mere change of announcement—rise from ground instead of tower.
Better to make no rise at all, Hal’s brain told him dully. After this hurrah of advertised excitement, a ground rise would be a flat fall for any interest whatever in the gyroscope. He was suddenly terribly tired. He’d been all of a million years without sleep, it seemed. He’d made a vast effort to get here—for nothing! Nobody’d be interested in the gyroscope anymore. And the Wiljohn Works needed the uplift of that gyroscope success, had banked on it. Mother and Uncle Tel—what was he going to do about them? He’d counted on making them comfortable out of this success. And now success had slipped from his grasp—his plans all gummed up by the foolish mistake of some workmen.
Disappointment and weariness were like some subtle drug, doping him into sleep as he stood here.
They were before the announcer’s stand. Stupidly, Hal listened while McGinnis made some sort of explanation to the man holding the megaphone—all about changed plan, rise from ground—
“No! No!” Hal’s voice was so loud that he startled himself. “Tell them—just what you’d planned to say!”